Super-Kamiokande Strongly Constrains Leptophilic Dark Matter Capture in the Sun

TL;DR

This paper uses 10 years of Super-Kamiokande data to set new, stronger constraints on leptophilic dark matter interactions with electrons in the Sun, surpassing terrestrial detection limits for certain masses.

Contribution

It provides the first strong astrophysical constraints on leptophilic dark matter capture in the Sun, improving upon previous direct detection bounds.

Findings

Constraints on dark-matter/electron scattering cross-section exceed terrestrial searches for masses below 100 GeV.

Cross-sections as low as approximately 4×10⁻⁴¹ cm² are constrained.

Super-Kamiokande observations significantly limit the parameter space for leptophilic dark matter models.

Abstract

The Sun can efficiently capture leptophilic dark matter that scatters with free electrons. If this dark matter subsequently annihilates into leptonic states, it can produce a detectable neutrino flux. Using 10 years of Super-Kamiokande observations, we set constraints on the dark-matter/electron scattering cross-section that exceed terrestrial direct detection searches by more than an order of magnitude for dark matter masses below 100 GeV, and reach cross-sections as low as $\sim$4$\times$10$^{-41}$cm$^{-2}$.